Please help us continue to provide you with free, quality journalism by turning off your ad blocker on our site.

Thank you for signing in.

If this is your first time registering, please check your inbox for more information about the benefits of your Forbes account and what you can do next!

I agree to receive occasional updates and announcements about Forbes products and services. You may opt out at any time.

I'd like to receive the Forbes Daily Dozen newsletter to get the top 12 headlines every morning.

Forbes takes privacy seriously and is committed to transparency. We will never share your email address with third parties without your permission. By signing in, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Statement.

Conducting an end-of-year review of your company is a great way to take stock of how you’re doing. Not only will you learn what did well, you’ll also get a grasp on the areas that need improvement.

Sitting down with your team for a simple analysis can set your brand up for success in the new year. We asked five members of Young Entrepreneur Council to share their experiences conducting year-end reviews. Follow their advice to help you improve your own business strategy.

Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer tips for an effective year-end review of your business.

All photos courtesy of YEC members.

1. Discuss What You’ve Achieved And Challenge Yourself For The Year Ahead

At our end-of-year review in December, we discuss the achieved goals and what happened. We also go through what worked and what didn’t. It helps us know what we did best and what our weaknesses are. It makes us realize our shortcomings and challenge ourselves to do more for next year. - Daisy Jing, Banish

2. Focus On Each Team Member’s Value To Your Company

Many startups put effort into consideration for reviews, but ultimately, if the business is not making money, then no one benefits. End-of-year reviews should focus on the revenue and the value each person brings to your company. I used Elon Musk’s method of discovering the value of a team member. If you told the team member to take a break for two weeks and your business would still be running well, then do you really need them in the first place? You probably don’t, and they probably don’t make that big of a difference within your organization. Focus on team members who actually contribute to your company in a big way, instead of focusing on everyone who may not be adding real value. It’s never too late to “lean up” and get things right. - Sweta Patel, Silicon Valley Startup Marketing

3. Look At Holistic Growth

I do annual corporate reviews and evaluations with my management team every December for each brand, and I find the best indicator of growth is looking at the company holistically. Yes, it’s important to look at each different objective and whether each was met, but looking at the company as a whole and its overall growth is more important. My team and I look at brand awareness and positioning, website traffic, email subscriber list growth, brand perception, and overall revenue to see where we succeeded as well as where we fell short. This helps draft a more effective business strategy for the next year. - Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Creative Development Agency, LLC

4. Compare Your Actual Performance To Your Expectations

Being competitive in the market is essential, but a better metric for review is how well your company has performed against what you expected. Being able to plan well and then make that plan come to fruition means you have better control over your company’s trajectory, and that gives you longevity, too. - Nicole Smartt Serres, Star Staffing

5. Find A Template Online

There are online templates for doing year-end reviews that help guide you through the process. This way, you’ll know you’ve covered all the bases when you do the review. Look for other examples online to benchmark your reviews and also leverage available best practices. This helped me when I got started to ensure I didn’t leave anything out. - Serenity Gibbons, NAACP

Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invitation-only, fee-based organization comprised of the world's most successful entrepreneurs 45 and younger. YEC members…

Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invitation-only, fee-based organization comprised of the world's most successful entrepreneurs 45 and younger. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and have created tens of thousands of jobs. Learn more at yec.co. Questions about an article? Email feedback@yec.co.